7. Project Summary- PESC The purpose of the UM-OAIC Pilot and Exploratory Studies Core (PESC) is to provide critical, initial funding for pilot and exploratory studies that are consistent with the Center?s overall goals of: 1) advancing our understanding of the mechanisms by which exercise and activity-based rehabilitation interventions directed at specific impairments affect multiple body systems underlying functional performance; and 2) developing and testing interventions to restore function and minimize disability following acute disabling events and gradual declines related to serious chronic diseases. To meet this objective, the PESC will provide research support and mentoring of investigators with high quality pilot and exploratory research proposals designed to acquire preliminary data needed for future crucial studies congruent with the Center?s focus. Priorities for awards include relevance to the UM-OAIC goal, potential for subsequent independent funding, new multidisciplinary collaborations and translational potential. PESC funding and mentoring of junior faculty in the conduct of pilot projects are essential to ensure the 1) coordination of innovative translational approaches to research in exercise and rehabilitation sciences; 2) investigation of the mechanisms underlying mobility limitation, physical disability, recovery and the prevention of disability in vulnerable older adults; and 3) assessment of the functional and clinical responses to novel exercise and activity-based rehabilitation interventions. Five innovative pilot studies will be supported in the first year of this competitive renewal. These studies will investigate: 1) the feasibility of delivering a home-based intervention for hip fracture patients with cognitive impairment; 2) an innovative hip abductor function intervention for older adults at risk for falls; 3) novel functional genetic biomarkers for upper arm motor recovery in chronic stroke patients using genome-wide expression profiling and DNA methylation; 4) phenotyping in Parkinson?s disease using a portable biosensor device, and 5) inflammatory biomarkers and neuropsychiatric changes after hip fracture. The preliminary data obtained in these studies will form the basis for larger, investigator-initiated studies to advance our ability to improve outcomes from disabling conditions in older persons and develop the careers of new academic leaders pursuing research in this important area.